through Local Production for Local Consumption of Resources (Okayama Prefecture Environmental Counselors Association)

In Tsu City of Okayama Prefecture, where the final disposal site for municipal wastes is nearing its full capacity and therefore waste reduction is required, the schools, NPOs and the local community worked in cooperation to accumulate garbage and weeds (reeds), produced pellets from them, and utilized them as fuel for heating schools and offices, and for horticulture (greenhouses). In addition, establishment of a community project for promoting organic agriculture to maintain regional vitality, and for promoting local production for local consumption of energy by the utilization of biomass stored in the region was promoted, through means such as mixing the incineration ashes with raw garbage compost produced with the participation of the residents, converting them into good quality fertilizers, and utilizing them on farms.

tal Learning Fair and lectures for teachers in charge of environmental education, implementation of research regarding the future direction of new environmental education, and the designation of model schools for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment program (GLOBE) has been carried out, with the aim to promote environmental education in schools.

On top of this, the holding of basic courses for training environmental education leaders, program development for promoting environmental education and the development of information provision framework has been promoted under the coalition/cooperation of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of the Environment, and the “Environmental Education/Environmental Learning Database” has been publicized on the website.

Where environmental conservation efforts by local governments and businesses such as the formulation of environmental conservation plans and environmental measuring are concerned, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has been giving the title of “professional engineer (environmental category)” to competent engineers who have passed the professional engineer examinations and had been registered based on the Professional Engineer Act (Act No. 25 of 1983), and has been promoting the utilization of the title.

The number of registered professional engineers (environmental category) is 970, as of the end of December, 2008.

Where environmental conservation efforts such as the formulation of environmental conservation plans and environmental measuring by local governments and businesses are concerned, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has been certifying competent engineers as “professional engineers (environmental category)”, and has been promoting the utilization of the title.

○ Project for Effective Utilization of Recyclable Resources such as Local Production for Local Consumption Pruning Waste (Miyama City Silver Human Resources Center)

Contribution were also made to recycling agriculture as promoted by local governments, by pulverizing and grinding the pruning wastes generated in the process of silver project activities, putting them to various uses as base material, giving them back to the local community, and by utilizing them as soil conditioner. Also, the pruning wastes were used as base material for producing cardboard compost, and by using the leftovers from school meals for creating compost, interaction between the elderly people from the Human Resources Center and the school children was promoted, contributing to enhancing the circular relationship among environmental awareness raising, revitalization of the town, urban development and harmony among people.

## (5) Implementation of research and promotion of science and technology

Research on 3Rs technology was selected as one of the research subjects to be handled specifically during the following five years in the environmental field, in the “Field-Specific Promotional Strategy” decided by the Council for Science and Technology Policy in March 2006, based on the 3rd Term of the Science and Technology Basic Plan decided by the Cabinet in March 2006. Also, the Central Environment Council discussed “the desirable state of the strategy for intensively promoting environmental studies and environmental technology development”, summarized the Central Environment Council report clarifying the “emphasized fields” such as the field of “the establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society”, formulated the “Enforcement Policy of the Promotion Strategy for Environmental Research and Environmental Technology Development” in March 2007, and has been following up such efforts every year. In addition, alternative materials and recovery technology of rare metals had been selected as countermeasure technology for rare resources, in the “Strategy for Innovative Technology” decided by the Council for Science and Technology Policy in May 2008.

Where grant-in-aid scientific research such as those for waste treatment are concerned, tasks were widely sought utilizing the competitive research fund, and 74 research projects and 6 technology development projects were implemented in FY 2008.

As for research projects, research/technology development in Asia and eventually in the international society concerning the 3Rs have been promoted, and in order to contribute to the establishment of an international 3Rs, great emphasis was placed on researches for solving the various problems surrounding the waste issue that would also contribute to the establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society, namely “Research for Promoting the 3Rs” “Research for Promoting the Utilization of Waste Biomass” “Combined Social-Scientific Research Toward the Establishment of a Sound Material-Cycle Society”